


At the end of the day

by Talia394



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, Musicals - Fandom, Starkid, Team Starkid - Fandom, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid, The Hachetfield Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Apotheosis, Background Paulkins for your enjoyment, Gen, Hachetfield AU, IDK how a coffee shop works but here you go, Is Zoey actually nice?, It's the best of both worlds, Nora is a crappy boss, Some softness, The complex relationship between Zoey and Emma, some heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24207208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talia394/pseuds/Talia394
Summary: An exploration into Zoey's character. She may be annoying most of the time, but when it matters the most, how much of a friend is she? Set in an AU where the apotheosis didn't happen but Emma's leg was still injured. Inspired by a comment on my other work from @ThinkingOfTheImplications - this is dedicated to you :)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	At the end of the day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThinkingOfTheImplications](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThinkingOfTheImplications/gifts).



TW// Scars, Vomit, Food

Emma walked into Beanie's, 5 minutes early for her shift and rubbing profusely at her temples. Her head was banging. It had been like that ever since she woke up and now with every step she took it only throbbed more. Emma hated working at Beanie's. She was the oldest employee there by quite a few years and most of them did not shut up. It was driving her insane.

"Popular, you're gonna be popular." Zoey and her theatre friends were harmonising, singing the same line over and over again and gasping after each time.

"That time was so clean oh my god!" One of them squealed. Emma hadn't bothered to learn their names. The three girls never spoke to Emma and only ever worked if one of the others was there with them. She thought it was the equivalent of working with Alvin and the fucking Chipmunks.

Emma walked around them, sighing loudly in the hopes that they would shut up and move, but to no avail. The four of them carried on, occasionally switching to a different line and gushing about just how good they were at that one. In the back Emma took some tablets for her headache and threw her backpack down. She tied her apron tightly round her waist as it often slipped down when she stored things in her pockets.

Emma stood there for a second, preparing for a god awful shift stuck with them. When she exited the break room they had moved from congregating behind the counter, now dispersed throughout the coffee shop, but still singing to one another.

They were considerably louder now, as if the extra 3 metre distance made them impossibly quiet and they had to belt every line. Emma tried to ignore them. If she just kept her head down and cleaned the machines she wouldn't get a bollocking from Nora. On the other hand, if she screamed at them with enough fury they might finally stop singing.

After half an hour Emma was irritated. Every time they sang another fucking lyric she could feel her knuckles turn white as she gripped the counter top. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She'd had enough. Emma turned to Zoey and tried to remain calm.

"Zoey, I have a headache. Could you not sing so loud?" It was definitely polite for Emma but Zoey still got offended. 

"Actually, I have a show coming up and also, in case you hadn't heard, this is a singing coffee shop." Zoey returned with an excess of sass. 

"It's not my fault you have a headache. Go take some painkillers." Zoey quipped again. Now turning back towards her friends and making faces behind Emma's back. Emma bit her lip and breathed in deeply. She was going to fucking snap. Could that bitch not shut up for two fucking minutes?

Emma decided to leave it, she knew without a doubt that Zoey would pull out the manager card if she retaliated. Instead, Emma took out her phone and ranted to Paul over text. He was very good at completely agreeing with her when she slated somebody. It was nice to get her feelings out and not get fired at the same time. 

Emma focused on the serving and cleaning probably more than she ever had in her life. At least then she couldn't feel the singing drilling into her brain as much. Eventually, the three other girls left, their shift now over. Zoey was still working though, and it was only the two of them now.

Zoey decided to take her break at the busiest time of the day, which was just fucking great for Emma. It was almost impossible to run by herself and unsurprisingly, the customers got angry when they were left waiting. When Zoey returned to a shop full of antsy customers and a stressed Emma, she made a point of berating her co-worker in front of everyone. 

Playing the 'manager' card, Zoey agreed with each customer complaining about Emma, who was doing her best considering the circumstances, and joining in to bad-mouth her. Emma got more and more pissed off that Zoey had the audacity to act like that - she was such a piece of shit.

Once the rush had passed and the shop quietened once more Zoey told Emma off again.

"Emma you can't act like that around the customers, I could fire you, you know." Zoey attempted to sound authoritative but Emma wasn't phased, she was almost 10 years younger than her. Nora had the real say in who was fired, Zoey wasn't as threatening as she thought she was. Emma didn't react, choosing to walk away and clean down some of the tables.

They worked silently for a bit, someone only ever speaking if a customer was ordering. Emma was thankful for the peace and quiet, her head still rather hurt, the pain almost made her feel sick. 

"Popular, you're gonna be popular." Zoey sung. Emma's head snapped over to her co-worker. She had reached her final straw.

"Seriously Zoey, do you ever shut the fuck up?" Emma screamed, looking incredulous. Luckily their were no customers in the shop to witness the outbreak. 

Zoey's mouth hung agape, horrified by what Emma had said. Zoey turned a dark shade of red.

"How dare you speak to me like that, I'll fire you." Zoey spat.

"You can't do shit without Nora, Zoey." Emma returned. Zoey knew Emma was right and she couldn't think of a comeback so she decided to storm off into the break room. Emma attempted to collect herself in that time but Zoey slammed the door back open and stormed through the shop.

"I've had enough of you, you're closing." Zoey said, rushing through the door before Emma could reply. As an alternative Emma held up her middle finger to the door. Emma was not staying later than usual just to close up, she'd just do it now and leave early.

Emma had forgotten that Nora was meant to stop by for closing and pick something up or whatever, she hadn't cared enough to listen. By the time Nora came down, Beanie's was already closed. She was enraged to find an abandoned shop well before the designated closing time.

The next day rolled around and Emma's phone blew up with missed calls and angry texts when she turned it back on. Emma had gone straight to sleep after work - due to her headache - and she was glad of it too once seeing the sheer amount of notifications come through on her phone. Emma ignored the calls and looked to the Beanie's employee group chat. She saw that Nora was pissed that they closed early and Zoey had happily commented that it was Emma's fault but didn't mention the big row that had caused it.

'Fucking great' Emma thought to herself. Nora was going to be up on her shit today. As Emma went to swing her legs out of bed to stand up she let out a grunt of pain.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck." Emma rambled to herself, wincing and squeezing her eyes shut tight. Her hand moved to hold her leg but it didn't help. A sharp pain zipped up and down her leg and there was an overwhelming ache that originated beyond the depths of her scars. Emma grinded her teeth together and half-shuffled / half-dragged her way to the end of her bed, next to the bed-side table. 

She picked up various labelled containers and poured out some tablets. She necked them quickly with the help of last night's glass of water and swallowed painfully. Emma had taken the medication for weeks yet she still couldn't get use to the feeling of taking it.

Next Emma pushed herself more upright so she could lay up against the headrest. She grabbed her numbing cream and unwrapped the bandage she had slept in. She practically lived in those bandages, seeing her scar made her feel repulsed. Consequently, she covered it as much as possible. Emma unscrewed the cap and rubbed the cream in a band all around her thigh.

The cream smelled bad and always took a while to dry. She had to be careful not to let it rub off as she went through her morning routine. The cream and meds kicked in soon enough but she knew that having to stand on it all day at Beanie's was going to cause problems later on. 

The bad days couldn't be avoided, and they always came around eventually. Emma had only taken a few days off for her leg in the past, but that was much closer to the accident. Nora had little sympathy for her and Emma knew she couldn't take much more time off than she had already had. Therefore she got ready for her shift, packing some extra meds and numbing cream in her backpack ready for the inevitable pain that would make an appearance later on.

Following this morning's events Emma had forgotten that Nora despised her very being, but the death stare she received as soon as she walked in the door reminded her in an instant. Luckily there were quite a few customers lined up to get coffee first thing, and for once, Emma was grateful for it. If she had to work Nora couldn't shout at her yet.

The atmosphere of the room was tense- none of them spoke to one another. Emma and Zoey had barely even looked at each other since last night but Emma had thought that maybe Zoey didn't end up telling Nora about what she had said at all, which was a great relief. Emma knew that if she did Nora probably would have fired her over text. Nora was shoved so far up Zoey's ass and always disliked Emma who was barely hanging on to her job. There was no question of what would have happened if Nora found out. The only reason she hadn't been fired up until this point was due to the fact that Emma worked the most shifts out of anybody. Though this was purely because she needed all the money she could get.

The shift was quiet and awkward but no one had argued yet, so it was a good start. The shop was busy for most of the day but the hours still dragged on. The pain in Emma's leg became increasingly worse and now she was struggling to put weight on it. Emma couldn't even take her painkillers for it yet, the doctor specified that due to the strength of the drugs she could only take them every 4 hours and any sooner would cause 'excess health problems'.

Emma hated this rule with all her might, it was stupid and cruel. There was no point in taking her break until she could take the meds because there was no way that Nora would let her take 10 minutes out to rub on the numbing cream unless she was on break. Today she needed all the relief she could get, just the meds or just the cream wouldn't cut it.

This meant that Emma just had to power through for a little longer. She implemented one of her greatest tactics: staying next to the coffee machines and constantly making coffees or cleaning the machines. This way she didn't have to move too far but could still look like she was working.

The plan worked for a while, she didn't have to walk on her leg and it was less than 30 minutes until she could take her break. It was looking up until, inevitably, it all went to shit.

"Emma can you sweep the floor?" Nora commanded, her tone firm. Emma tried to take a small step on her leg to test out the waters but it only resulted in a hiss of pain escaping from Emma's mouth.

"Can't Zoey do it?" Emma asked sincerely. The other girl was typing on her phone, not actually doing anything productive. Zoey looked up and frowned at Emma, annoyed that she would drag her into this after the events of last night. 

"No, no, fine. I guess I'll have to do it then." Nora made a passive aggressive spectacle and began to mumble under her breath. Emma heard her utter "Lazy" and "Unbelievable". She wasn't too phased by it, it wasn't uncommon for her co-workers to bitch about her.

Zoey eyed up Emma, confused why she wouldn't just sweep the damn floor but decided to drop it as soon as a text came through to her phone. The next few minutes crawled along slowly. Zoey became increasingly bored of whoever she was texting and decided to return to scrutinising Emma.

It came to her suddenly why Emma hadn't wanted to sweep the floor. Emma was stood, all of her weight pressed down through one leg, her bandaged one lifted off the floor slightly. Emma's hip was leant against the counter, helping to stabilise her. Zoey watched as Emma shuffled from side to side when she needed to reach something, always letting out an audible groan when she stepped on her left leg. 

Zoey knew that Emma couldn't walk and that's why she'd tried to fend off the task of sweeping every inch of the coffee shop. Zoey felt bad for Emma, it must hurt a lot if she can't even stand on it. Emma had never told her or Nora about her leg, not even a little bit. They'd heard rumours of course, everyone had, but Emma never mentioned it to them.

Unbeknown to Emma, Zoey had seen the grim scar once before. Zoey thought that she must have been one of very few considering Emma never took her bandage off. Nora thought it was just some kind of support, she didn't really think there was a great big scar across Emma's thigh.

Zoey remembered that day every time she glanced at Emma's bandage:

Emma had been in the break room, and Zoey was hanging about in the back, not wanting to serve any real customers. She'd seen Emma sat there on the sofa with her leg up on some pillows. Zoey remembered that Emma had been limping all day and was curious to see if there was some kind of mark on Emma's leg, maybe a small scar. The only information she knew about it was that Emma had to have surgery, so she presumed that there might still be a thin scar.

Zoey was horrified when Emma took off the bandages. A large, thick, inflamed, jagged scar ran over her thigh. It nearly made Zoey vomit it was so gross. The young barista had no idea how Emma could live with that. It looked painful, and by the wincing on Emma's face as she applied some kind of weird cream all around her scar, Zoey concluded that it was painful. Emma never talked about if she was in pain or not, so Zoey never really thought twice about the occasional limp. Now she realised how much Emma must have had to put up with.

Ever since that day, Zoey had gained sympathy for her co-worker, even though she still disliked her most of the time. Emma didn't want to talk about her leg and that was fine, she guessed, but it might get Nora off her back if she explained why she was so lazy all the time. Zoey felt bad for Emma in that moment, she looked like she was struggling more than usual.

"Emma, you need to clean these tables down." Nora demanded, her appearance stern. Emma was going to have to take the brunt of this argument, she was afraid that if she took a step she'd cry out in pain.

"Zoey's not busy, can she do it?" Emma pleaded, but Nora wasn't having it.

"Emma, you're unbelievably lazy! You're lucky I haven't fired you yet but I swear to God I-" Nora was interrupted by Zoey.

"It's fine, I can do it. Like she said, I'm not busy." Zoey stated, shrugging her shoulders, attempting to look like she didn't mind in the slightest. She did of course, but Emma could barely walk so it was only fair.

"No Zoey. Emma needs to learn to get her act together because if she doesn't I will-" Nora was practically seething at this point but Zoey cut in again.

"Oh my God! Can you not see her? She can barely stand, leave her alone!" Zoey insisted passionately. Emma's jaw dropped in shock. Had Zoey just defended her? Had Zoey just royally pissed off Nora for her? She couldn't believe it.

Nora seemed to back track slightly, now taking in the way Emma was standing and how her hand was rested gently on her thigh, holding it. Nora shut her eyes and deeply exhaled.

"You better sort yourself out by the time I get back from my break." Nora warned, grabbing her purse and coat from the back and exiting out the door. Emma stared dumbfounded for a while. She never thought that Zoey would stand up for her like that, let alone after the massive feud they'd shared the previous night.

"Uh, thanks." Emma managed to choke out. She was at a loss for words. Zoey smiled at her sympathetically.

"It's really hurting you then?" Zoey asked sincerely, she was concerned, Emma had been standing on it for many hours now. 

"Yeah, it's a bitch." Emma nodded and looked away. It was an awkward interaction, but one she appreciated.

"If it's that bad you can go if you want, I'll cover for you." Zoey offered. Emma looked up at her, touched.

"Zoey, you don't have to do that." Emma shook her head.

"It's no problem for me, but I reckon if you're standing here for the next couple hours you might collapse, and neither of us want that." Zoey gave a friendly smile which Emma returned.

"Thank you. I owe you one." Emma replied. She was very grateful for Zoey stepping in for her. It was the worst her leg had been since she'd stopped using her crutches. Emma untied her apron and went to limp over to the break room to retrieve her things but Zoey stopped her.

"No, stay there. I'll get your backpack and your coat." Zoey said softly. Emma thought about how good of a person Zoey actually was. She was annoying as hell and often quite narcissistic but underneath all that she was caring and understanding. Maybe she could be friends with Zoey after all.

Once the younger barista had returned with her items Emma pulled out her phone and called Paul, asking him to pick her up. Luckily he was able to take a break to come down and get her. When Paul came into the store he looked nervous and worried, Emma hadn't specified why she needed to leave work early so naturally he was concerned.

"Hey Em, what's wrong?" Paul asked, looking to her grimace.

"My leg's acting up s'all. I'll be fine once I'm sat down." She reassured him. Paul walked over around the back of the counter until he was next to Emma. He slung her backpack over one shoulder whilst she put on her coat. Emma expected Paul to offer an arm of support so that she could walk out a bit more on-balance. Instead he scooped her up, careful not to hold her where her bandage was, and carried her bridal style. 

Emma was shocked by this but soon relaxed into it - it would be a hell of a lot easier to get to his car now. As he began to exit the coffee shop, Emma called over her shoulder.

"Thank you so much Zoey." She expressed again. Zoey waved briefly and then got back to work.

Paul had gotten Emma home quickly, making sure she was comfortable in bed before leaving to go back to work. Emma spent the rest of her day there, her leg propped up on some pillows. She'd been able to take some more painkillers and apply the numbing cream so she felt within herself again after an hour or so. 

Once Paul arrived back at hers after work he hovered about, eager to help her in anyway possible. He helped her change into pyjamas and cooked her dinner. Paul was far too good to her she thought. When he had gone downstairs to wash the dishes Emma's phone buzzed.

<< Hey, I covered for you to Nora, so don't worry about that. Is your leg okay? >>

Emma read the text and smiled- Zoey had wanted to check up on her. She typed out a response.

<< You're a lifesaver. I'm better now I'm in bed and I've had painkillers, don't worry about me. >>

Zoey replied with a love heart emoji and Emma put her phone back down on her bed-side table. Emma thought back on her relationship with Zoey thus far. It had always been a rocky one. They often bickered and clashed heads, they just didn't work together. Today made Emma think about her though, maybe they could be a little more tolerable to one another. She wasn't expecting a full-fledged friendship, no, that just wouldn't work. But Emma decided to cut her a bit more slack. Perhaps at the end of the day, she wasn't that bad at all.

**Author's Note:**

> This was super fun to write, if anyone has any ideas or concepts for Hachetfield one-shots they would like to see, feel free to comment below and I might write them. I never would have written this had it not been for a very nice commenter! You know who you are and I appreciate all of your support :) Also thanks to everyone who just read this, you're awesome <3


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